Low profile trolley for a tow saddle

ABSTRACT

A trolley that couples to a tow saddle is provided. The trolley includes an upper plate and a lower plate. The upper and lower plate are secured against a rear portion of a tow saddle. One or more support bars are coupled to the upper plate. The bars provide structural support for the upper plate and deflect a chain that transits apertures in the upper plate.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/701,196, filed Jul. 20, 2018, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to trolleys for tow trucksaddles. The present disclosure relates specifically to an apparatusthat facilitates attaching a tow truck saddle to a truck being towed.When multiple trucks need to be moved from one location to another, towtruck saddles may be used so that a driver is not needed to drive eachtruck.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of this disclosure relates to a front tow extendedsaddle. The tow saddle includes front, middle and rear portions. Thefront portion is mounted to a truck doing the towing. A truck beingtowed is mounted to the rear portion. The middle portion secures thefront portion to the rear portion.

A trolley is secured to a top of the rear portion. The trolley has anupper plate and a supplemental plate rigidly secured to a top surface ofthe upper plate. The trolley facilitates using a chain to secure thetowed truck to the tow saddle. The supplemental plate providesstructural support to the upper plate. In various embodiments thetrolley includes multiple supplemental plates welded to the upper plate.The trolley also includes a lower plate. The upper and lower plates aresecured together via a fastener, such as a bolt. When secured together,the upper and lower plates pinch and are secured against opposing upperskirts of the rear portion's rails. The trolley is also secured by chainto a cross-bar that is secured to two frame rails of the towed truck.

In one embodiment, the upper plate and supplemental plates have twopairs of apertures to receive the chain. Between each of the pairs ofapertures is a support element, such as a bar, to provide support to theupper plate and supplemental plate(s).

In one embodiment, the bolt that secures the upper and lower platestogether passes through apertures in the upper plate and lower plate,but the bolt does not pass through an aperture in the supplementalplate. Therefore, the upper profile of the bolt is reduced, reducing thelikelihood of the bolt damaging the under-carriage of the towed truck.

The lower plate includes two ribs that protrude from a top surface ofthe lower plate towards the upper plate. The ribs keep the trolleyaligned with respect to opposing skirts of the rear rails. The ribs havea primary longitudinal axis that is generally parallel to the primaryaxis of the rear portion of the tow saddle. The ribs have a height thatis less than a width of the opposing skirts that the upper and lowerplates are secured to. Therefore, the height of the ribs does notprevent the upper and lower plates from being compressed directlyagainst the opposing skirts of the rear portion of the tow saddle.

In one embodiment, the trolley includes two supplemental plates. Thesupplemental plates are attached to the top surface of the upper plate.The supplemental plate has an interior edge that is generally coplanarwith outer peripheral edges of the lower plate's ribs.

In one embodiment, the trolley includes an upper plate and a lowerplate, and no supplemental plate(s) are coupled to the upper plate. Theupper plate is thicker than the upper plate in the embodiment thatincludes supplemental plate(s).

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription which follows, and, in part, will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the description or recognized bypracticing the embodiments as described in the written description aswell as the appended drawings. It is to be understood that both theforegoing general description and the following detailed description areexemplary.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of thisspecification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiments andtogether with the description serve to explain principles and operationof the various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tow saddle according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the trolley and rear rails ofFIG. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a top schematic view of the upper plate and rails of FIG. 2,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a detailed and annotated perspective view of a trolley andcross-bar, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an image of a cross-bar and a chain, according to exemplaryembodiments.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a lower plate of the trolley of FIG. 2,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a detailed perspective view of a trolley and rear rails,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a top schematic view of the upper plate and rails of FIG. 7,according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring generally to the figures, an embodiment of a trolley for a towsaddle is shown. In general, tow saddles are used by one truck to towone or more other trucks. The trolley is a component of the tow saddlethat facilitates securing the tow saddle to the towed truck. The trolleyfacilitates attaching a chain between the tow saddle and a cross-barthat is placed across the frame rails of the towed truck. The trolley isfixedly secured to a top surface of a rear portion of the tow saddle.One or more embodiments of the trolley described herein have a lowprofile, thereby reducing the likelihood of the trolley damaging theunder-carriage of the towed truck.

In one embodiment, the trolley includes an upper plate and a lowerplate. The upper plate includes two supplemental plates that are securedto a top surface of the upper plate. The trolley is attached to opposingskirts of a pair of rails in a rear portion of a tow saddle. Theopposing skirts extend towards each, leaving a space between them. Theupper plate is placed above the opposing skirts and the lower plate isplaced below the opposing skirts.

The upper plate is then secured to the lower plate, such as via bolts.To reduce a height of the bolt above the rear rails, the bolt passesthrough the upper plate at locations that are not bolstered by asupplemental plate. As a result, the height of the bolt is reduced andcorrespondingly the chances of the bolt damaging the under-carriage ofthe towed truck is similarly reduced.

In one embodiment the trolley does not include supplemental platescoupled to the upper plate and does include a relatively thicker upperplate compared to alternate embodiments. This slightly thickerconfiguration provides structural strength that compensates for the lackof supplemental plates coupled to the upper plate in this embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a tow saddle is disclosed. Asshown in FIG. 1, saddle 700 includes forward portion 710, middle portion800 and rear portion 900. Forward portion includes left and rightforward rails 712 and 714, respectively, which are joined by a pluralityof cross members 716. A front bracket 718 is secured to the forward endof forward portion 710. A security compartment 720 may optionally bemounted on rails 712 and 714. Although not shown in this figure,apertures in rails 712 and 714 may be provided to accommodate tubes onwhich to dispose a fender tarp assembly.

Middle portion 800 includes side plates 810 and 820. Middle portion 800includes a bracket 830 used to accommodate a rod 840. A plurality of towpins are disposed on the rod 840 for adapting a height of the towedvehicle. A jack assembly may be disposed between the two side plates 810and 820 of the vertical portion. In such embodiments, the jack assemblyis used to lower or raise the towed vehicle for loading or unloading.

Rear portion 900 includes pairs of left and right rails 910 and 920.Left rear inner rail 910 and left rear outer rail are bolted together,sandwiching the lower region of left side plate 810. Similarly, rightrear inner rail 920 and right rear outer rail are bolted together,sandwiching the lower region of right side plate 820. Preferably, innerrear rails 910 and 920 extend further rearward than outer rear rails.The left and right rear rails 910 and 920 are spaced apart a narrowdistance and fit within the frame of the towed vehicle and are joined byplurality of cross members 930.

V-notched blocks 950 may be mounted onto the left and right rear outerrails to receive a front axle of the towed vehicle. The axle can besecured in the blocks through U-bolts 960. The rear ends of the innerrear rails 910 and 920 are bolted together by an end cross member 970.Described in more detail below and illustrated in FIGS. 2-6, trolley 10is secured above and between opposing skirts 910 a and 920 a of therespective inner rear rails 910 and 920.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-6, one embodiment of trolley 10 includes upperplate 20, supplemental plates 34, and lower plate 60. Upper plate 20 andlower plate 60 are secured together via fasteners, shown as bolts 32,which transit aperture 30 of upper plate 20 and aperture 70 of lowerplate 60. When secured together, upper plate 20 and lower plate 60 pinchagainst upper edge 910 a and upper edge 920 a, securing trolley 10 torear rails 910 and 920.

Supplemental plates 34 are secured against (e.g., welded to) top surface44 of upper plate 20 to provide additional structural support. Thecombination of upper plate 20 and supplemental plates 34 has a height38, which includes the height 28 of upper plate 20 and the height 36 ofsupplemental plates 34. Bolt 32 extends height 33 above the uppersurface 44 of upper plate 20. A result of using supplemental plates 34,rather than making upper plate 20 uniformly thicker, is that the height33 of bolt 32 is reduced. In one embodiment, height 33 of bolt 32 isapproximately 20% higher than height 38 of supplemental plate 34 (e.g.,17/16 inches compared to 14/16 inches). This produces the beneficialresult of trolley 10 extending a lower height above opposing skirts 910a and 920 a, and the chance of trolley 10 contacting and/or damaging theunder-carriage of the towed truck is correspondingly reduced. In otherwords, the upper end of bolt 32 presents a lower profile relative to therest of trolley 10 that decreases the chance that bolt 32 contacts thetowed truck as the towed truck is being loaded on or offloaded from atow saddle equipped with trolley 10.

Supplemental plates 34 are coupled to upper plate 20 on opposing sides.In one embodiment, inwardly-facing walls 54 of supplemental walls 34 arecloser than width 94 of inner rear rails 910 and 920.

Upper plate 20 extends width 24 perpendicularly to longitudinal axis890, which is further than width 92 of rear rails 910 and 920. Upperplate extends length 26 along the longitudinal axis 890 of the left andright rear rails 910 and 920. Upper plate 20 is supported by supportbars 40, which are located beyond the outer periphery of rear rails 910and 920.

Turning to FIG. 4-5, an elongate flexible support component, shown aschain 58, transits the holes in supplemental plates 34 and upper plate20 to secure trolley 10 to a towed truck. Chain 58 detachably securestrolley 10 to cross-bar 980. Cross-bar 980 is secured against the framerails of the towed truck. In one embodiment, chain 58 transits downapertures 46 and 50, and up apertures 48 and 52 (best shown in FIG. 3).Chain 58 transits from aperture 48 to aperture 50 above upper plate 20.Chain 58 transits from aperture 46 to aperture 48 and from aperture 50to aperture 52 under upper plate 20 and around support bars 40. Supportbar 40 provides a deflection for chain 58 between the apertures, aschain 58 extends slightly vertically down to navigate around support bar40. Support bars 40 are secured against (e.g., welded to) bottom surface44 of upper plate 20 to provide structural support against the forcesexerted by the chain on trolley 10. Support bars 40 define longitudinalaxis 56 that is perpendicular to longitudinal axis 890 of rear rails 910and 920. The rest of chain 58 is detachably coupled to support bar 980,such as by transiting the internal space of support bar 980 aroundclevis hooks/pins 982 (best shown in FIG. 5), which are secured inapertures 984. Various numbers of clevis hooks/pins 982 may be used andremain consistent with this disclosure, including for example any numberof clevis hooks/pins 982 (e.g., 1-5).

Turning to FIG. 6, lower plate 60 includes apertures 70 that are used tosecure lower plate 60 to upper plate 20. Ribs 62 are secured against thetop surface 64 of lower plate 60 and extend upwardly from top surface64. Ribs 62 include a primary longitudinal axis 72 that is generallyparallel to the primary longitudinal axis 890 of rear rails 910 and 920.When trolley 10 is secured to rear rails 910 and 920, ribs 62 arepositioned between rear rails 910 and 920 and extend along the interioredge of rear rails 910 and 920.

Ribs 62 have a height 68 that is less than the height 98 of rails 910and 920 (best shown in FIG. 5). As a result, upper surface 66 of ribs 62do not prevent upper plate 20 and lower plate 60 from pressing againstopposing skirts 910 a and 920 a when trolley 10 is secured to rear rails910 and 920.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show trolley 110 according to an exemplary embodiment.Trolley 110 is substantially the same as trolley 10 except for thedifferences discussed herein. Trolley 110 includes upper plate 120,which defines height 128.

In one embodiment trolley 110 does not include supplemental plates 34that are coupled to upper plate 20. To compensate for thisconfiguration, height 128 of upper plate 120 is greater than height 33of upper plate 20.

Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects ofthis disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view ofthis description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed asillustrative only. The construction and arrangements, shown in thevarious exemplary embodiments, are illustrative only. Although only afew embodiments have been described in detail in this disclosure, manymodifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions,structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values ofparameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors,orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novelteachings and advantages of the subject matter described herein. Someelements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple partsor elements, the position of elements may be reversed or otherwisevaried, and the nature or number of discrete elements or positions maybe altered or varied. The order or sequence of any process, logicalalgorithm, or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according toalternative embodiments. Other substitutions, modifications, changes andomissions may also be made in the design, operating conditions andarrangement of the various exemplary embodiments without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that anymethod set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps beperformed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim doesnot actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is nototherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that thesteps are to be limited to a specific order, it is in no way intendedthat any particular order be inferred. In addition, as used herein thearticle “a” is intended to include one or more components or elements,and is not intended to be construed as meaning only one.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to any combinationof any of the features, and any such combination of features may beclaimed in this or future applications. Any of the features, elements,or components of any of the exemplary embodiments discussed above may beutilized alone or in combination with any of the features, elements, orcomponents of any of the other embodiments discussed above.

In various exemplary embodiments, the relative dimensions, includingangles, lengths and radii, as shown in the Figures are to scale. Actualmeasurements of the Figures will disclose relative dimensions, anglesand proportions of the various exemplary embodiments. Various exemplaryembodiments extend to various ranges around the absolute and relativedimensions, angles and proportions that may be determined from theFigures. Various exemplary embodiments include any combination of one ormore relative dimensions or angles that may be determined from theFigures. Further, actual dimensions not expressly set out in thisdescription can be determined by using the ratios of dimensions measuredin the Figures. in combination with the express dimensions set out inthis description. In addition, in various embodiments, the presentdisclosure extends to a variety of ranges (e.g., plus or minus 30%, 20%,or 10%) around any of the absolute or relative dimensions disclosedherein or determinable from the Figures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tow saddle comprising: a front portionconfigured to mount to a towing vehicle; a rear portion configured tomount to a towed vehicle, the rear portion coupled to the front portion,the rear portion defining a longitudinal axis; and a trolley comprising:an upper plate secured to the rear portion; a lower plate secured to therear portion; and a first rib protruding from the lower plate towardsthe upper plate, the first rib positioned between upper walls of therear portion; and a second rib protruding from the lower plate towardsthe upper plate, the second rib is positioned between upper walls of therear portion, wherein the upper walls of the rear portion are positionedbetween the upper plate and the lower plate.
 2. The tow saddle of claim1, wherein the first rib defines a longitudinal axis that is parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the rear portion.
 3. The tow saddle of claim 1further comprising: a first support bar coupled to the upper plate; asecond support bar coupled to the upper plate; and a chain thatinterfaces against the first support bar and the second support bar, thechain configured to couple the towing vehicle to the towed vehicle. 4.The tow saddle of claim 3, wherein the first support bar and the secondsupport bar define a longitudinal axis that is perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the rear portion.
 5. The tow saddle of claim 3,wherein the first support bar and the second support bar are outside toan outer periphery of the rear portion.
 6. The tow saddle of claim 1,wherein the lower plate extends further along the longitudinal axis ofthe rear portion than the rib.
 7. A tow saddle comprising: a frontportion configured to mount to a towing vehicle; a rear portionconfigured to mount to a towed vehicle, the rear portion coupled to thefront portion, the rear portion comprising two rails that extendparallel to a longitudinal axis of the rear portion; and a trolleycomprising: an upper plate secured to the two rails, the upper platedefines: a first aperture and a second aperture, both are outside anouter periphery of the rear portion; and a third aperture and a fourthaperture, both are outside an outer periphery of the rear portion; afirst support bar coupled to the upper plate between the first apertureand the second aperture; a second support bar coupled to the upper platebetween the third aperture and the fourth aperture; a lower platesecured to the two rails.
 8. The tow saddle of claim 7, wherein thefirst support bar and the second support bar are external to the tworails.
 9. The tow saddle of claim 7, wherein the first support bar andthe second support bar define a longitudinal axis that is perpendicularto the longitudinal axis of the rear portion.
 10. The tow saddle ofclaim 7, wherein the first support bar and the second support bar arecoupled to a bottom surface of the upper plate.
 11. The tow saddle ofclaim 7 further comprising: a chain that interfaces against the firstsupport bar and the second support bar.
 12. The tow saddle of claim 7further comprising: a chain that transits the first aperture, the secondaperture, the third aperture and the fourth aperture.
 13. A tow saddlecomprising: a front portion configured to mount to a towing vehicle; arear portion configured to mount to a towed vehicle, the rear portioncoupled to the front portion; a trolley coupled to a top of the rearportion, the trolley comprising: an upper plate defining a top surfaceand a bottom surface; a supplemental plate secured to the top surface ofthe upper plate, the supplemental plate comprising at least twoapertures; a lower plate; and a fastener securing the lower plate andthe upper plate to the rear portion; and a flexible elongate componentconfigured to that couple the trolley to the towing vehicle, theelongate component transiting the at least two apertures.
 14. The towsaddle of claim 13, wherein the fastener does not transit thesupplemental plate.
 15. The tow saddle of claim 13, wherein the trolleyfurther comprises a support bar secured to the bottom surface of theupper plate between two of the at least two apertures.
 16. The towsaddle of claim 13, wherein the at least two apertures comprise a firstaperture, a second aperture, a third aperture and a fourth aperture,wherein the trolley comprises: a first support bar secured to the bottomsurface of the upper plate between the first and second apertures; and asecond support bar secured to the bottom surface of the upper platebetween the third and fourth apertures.
 17. The tow saddle of claim 13,wherein the lower plate comprises ribs that protrude towards the upperplate, the ribs define a longitudinal axis that is parallel to alongitudinal axis of the rear portion.
 18. The tow saddle of claim 17,wherein the trolley comprises a second supplemental plate, thesupplemental plate and the second supplemental plate are attached to theupper plate at opposing sides of the upper plate, each supplementalplate having an interior surface that is coplanar with a surface of theribs.
 19. The tow saddle of claim 13, wherein the trolley extendslaterally further than the rear portion.
 20. A tow saddle comprising: afront portion configured to mount to a towing vehicle; a rear portionconfigured to mount to a towed vehicle, the rear portion coupled to thefront portion, the rear portion defining a longitudinal axis; a trolleycomprising: an upper plate secured to the rear portion; a lower platesecured to the rear portion; and a rib protruding from the lower platetowards the upper plate, the rib positioned between upper walls of therear portion; a first support bar coupled to the upper plate; a secondsupport bar coupled to the upper plate; and a chain that interfacesagainst the first support bar and the second support bar, the chainconfigured to couple the towing vehicle to the towed vehicle.
 21. A towsaddle comprising: a front portion configured to mount to a towingvehicle; a rear portion configured to mount to a towed vehicle, the rearportion coupled to the front portion, the rear portion defining alongitudinal axis; and a trolley comprising: an upper plate secured tothe rear portion; a lower plate secured to the rear portion; and a ribprotruding from the lower plate towards the upper plate, the ribpositioned between upper walls of the rear portion; wherein the lowerplate extends further along the longitudinal axis of the rear portionthan the rib.